Road marking combine



April 6, 1937. E H, HOLNGSHEAD I 2,076,370

ROAD MARKING coMB-INE April. 6, 1937- E. H. HoLLlNGsH-EAD I 2,076,370

ROAD MARKING COMB INE Filed June l5, 1935 2 Sheets-Shea?I 2 EHHOLLINGHEAD G gon/vento@ aum/wai@ Patented Apr. 6, 1937 ROAD MARKINGCOMBINE Everett H. Hollingshead, Dayton, '.lex., as'signor to RoadStriping, Inc., Houston, Tex., a corporation of Texas Application June15, 1933, Serial No. 675,964

llclaims. (Cl. 91-13) The invention relates to an improvement in roadmarking machines of the general type shown and described in my priorPatent No. 1,726,832, and is particularly directed to a combination ofmechanisms which permit the complete preparation of the surface forreceiving the mark and conditioning the mark for service.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a road marking combinecapable of cleaning the road surface, and preparing such surface toreceive the marking material and to then condition the marked area sothat it. is ready for service, all in a single operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a road cleaning devicewherein the surface is brushed and the loosened material removed atthesame time that a liquid solvent is applied to the surface.'

Another object of the invention is to apply a solvent to the roadsurface directly preceding the application of the marking material sothat the marking material placed adjacent the surface will be dissolvedand a more perfect bond will be created between the material' and theroad surface upon evaporation of the solvent.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine wherein the roadsurface will be brushed, dusted and a solvent applied directly precedingthe placing of the marking material.

Another object of the invention is to provide a road marking machinewherein the operative parts which contact the road are in positionoutboard of the machine and are supported by an independent carriage.

Another object'of the invention is to provide a combination outboardsteering and operating attachment for vehicles so that the same may beconverted into a road marking machine.

Other and further objects of the invention will be readily apparent whenthe following description is considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a top plan View1 of adiagrammatic illustration of the invention, showingr the relativearrangement of the parts;

Figure 2 is a side elevation looking at that side of the vehicle towhich the mechanisms have been applied;

Figure 3 shows a detailed construction, illustrating the manner in whichthe marking shoe is carried by its supporting carriage.

In Figure 1 the reference character 2 indicates generally a standardtype of vehicle, such as a small truck. It is contemplated that variousreceptacles will be mounted upon this truck to carry supplies of thematerial which are to be used during the marking of the road. One suchreceptacle is indicated at 3 land is adapted to contain a supply ofsolvent to b e used in preparing the road for the marking material.Another receptacle is 5 shown at 4, which is adapted to contain a supplyof marking material, whereas, the receptacle 5 carries a supply ofdusting material, such as sand or other suitable substance, which may beused to surface the marking material in preparing it for service.Thereceptacle 6 carries a supply of fuel for the burners, which heat themarking material.

The vehicle 2 has positioned on the front thereof a suitable bumper .orother construction I0, which serves as a. support for the arm Il. Thisarm is maintained in transversely extended position by a brace I2, whichis suitably connected to the vehicle. The arm Il has pivotallyconnectedtherewith a yoke H, which extends rearwardly alongside the vehicle, andis connected to a carriage I5', which is in turn arranged to travelalong with the vehicle on the left-hand side thereof, as viewed inFigure 1. This carriage I5 is arranged to support different parts of thecombine structure, as will be later described. f

In the marking of trafllc lanes on modern highways, it is desirable toprepare the surface to receive the marking material in the best possiblemanner. It is usual that a considerable amount 30 of dust and dirt arepresent on the road surface, and to increase the life of the mark to beplaced on the road, it is absolutely essential that this dust and dirtbe removed from the surface before the marking material is applied. Ithas been found that if a small quantity of dust or dirt is present uponthe surface that the bond between themarklng material and the road ismaterially affected, and the marking material is soon carried away bythefriction of the moving vehicles. 40 With these points in mind thepresent road marking combine contemplates the provision of a rotarybrush 20. This brush may be positioned either on the vehicle, aslndicated in the drawings, r upon the carriage I5. In either event, it45 is properly supported by a bracket 21 so that the roller or brush 22vis rotatably carried by the bracket. As seen in Figure 1, the bracket2l serves as the bearing or support for the shaft 22, upon which thebrush 22 is mounted. 50

This shaft is preferably driven by means of a drive chain or belt 24,which receives its power from a jack shaft 25 carried by the vehiclechassis. This jack shaft 25 may in turn be driven by the connection 26from the transmission 21 of the marking operation. A handle 28 isprovided fory this purpose and has a plurality of openings 29 formedtherein so that the handle may be attached to the vehicle at differentelevations to hold the brush away from the road. When it is desired touse the brush, the handle 28 will be released and the brush will be heldin contact to the road due to the force of gravity and be compelled torotate at relatively high rates of speed by the connection of the driveshaft 25.

It has been found that where a brush ls used on the road surface priorto applying the marking material that a considerable portion of the dustloosened by the brush remains on the surface or settles on the surfacebefore the marking material can be applied. y

With a view of eliminating this objection by removing the loosened dust,a blower device has been provided. This blower is indicated generally at32, and is preferably carried by the vehicle 2.

The blower is in the form of a rotor, which isv driven by the chain 33yalso connected to the jack shaft 25. `The outlet of the blower isindicated at 34, and is directed to a position directly behind the brush22 so that a stream of air will be directed against the road surfacewith a view of driving the particles of dust from the surface. It iscontemplated that the direction of theair i' stream may be reversed, ifdesired, and a suction created Within the discharge pipe 34 so that thedust will be sucked into the pipe, and in this manner completelyeliminated. In the event this arrangement is practiced, a suitablereceptacle will be provided for the accumulated dust, or the same may beblown out from the rear of the vehicle where it will not affect thecleaned surface. It should be noted that the pipe 34 is closely adjacentthe brush 22 and that both of these mechanisms are considerably inadvance of the remaining parts of the machine.

The carriage I5 is provided with the front wheels 40, which may carry asuitable support for the pipe 34, or the pipe 34 may be supporteddirectly from the vehicle. The marking shoe, indicated generally at 42,is entirely supported by the carriage I5 so that the weight of the shoewill be available to maintain it in contact with the 'road vsurface andprevent the dischargeof excessive amounts of marking material. In orderthat this may be accomplished, the marking shoe has attached thereto therear wheels 43 of the carriage I5. These wheels are positioned on anaxle, whichis in turnconnected to the bars 44. These bars are rigidlyfixed to the shoe housing 45. The pull necessary to move the housingforward is made through a pull rod 46, which is pivcted to the carriageI5 at 41. This rod 46 is adjustable by means of telescoping pipes v48,and may be adjusted by the collar and setscrew 49. It will be apparentthat the housing 45 is free to move vertically in accordance withvariations of the roads surface, due to the pivotal connection at 41,and telescopes upon the feed pipe 56, through which the marking materialdischarges Afrom the receptacle 4. The wheel 43 merely serves as afollower, and will only take a small proportion of the weight, or noweight at all, dependent upon the respective elevations of the Thedetailed construction of the shoe is best seen in my co-pendingapplication, Serial No. 459,890, illed June 9, 1930, which has resultedin Patent 1,990,545, granted February 12, 1,935, but in the presentinvention, certain improvements have been made in the shoe, one of whichincludes the positioning of a pipe, such as 5I, adjacent the shoe frame52. This pipe 5I is connected'to the tank 3, which contains a supply ofsuitable liquid, which is preferably a solvent for the marking materialto be discharged from the shoe. The pipe 5I leads downwardly toward thesurface directly in advance of the marking shoe, and the flow of liquidtherefrom is controlled by means of a valve 53, which is provided with aremote control handle 54, which will be later explained.

It is contemplated that the brush 22 and the blow pipe 34 will clean theroad surface so that it is in condition to receive the marking material.However, it has been found of advantage to spray or moisten the surfaceof the road with a solvent material Ydirectly preceding the application`of the marking material. The solvent being in the form of a distillatewill readily penetrate the small cavities and come in contact with everyportion of the roads surface. When this surface is so moistened, themarking shoe passes thereover, and the heated marking material isapplied. The solvent also tends to penetrate any particles of dust ordirt and saturates them so that the marking material will adhere to theparticles and thus to the road surface.

The solvent already on the surface tends to dissolve a very small`amount of the marking' material, which comes in contact with thesolvent.

This makes the marking material still less viscous so that it willreadily flow into the small cavities of the roads surface. Even if theroads surface is chilled, it has been found that by applying a coatingof solvent prior to discharging the marking material that a perfect bondis obtained and that the marking material lasts indenitely longer andremains in place on the road much better than when the mark is appliedwithout the use of a solvent.

It seems obvious that in a very short period the solvent Will evaporate,leaving the marking material iirrnly bonded to the roads surface becauseit has penetrated all the tiny cavities and obtained a rm hold upon theroads surface.

The ow of marking material to the shoe 42 is controlled by means of avalve 55, which is in turn controlled from the operators positionindicated at 51. It is intended that the speed of the vehicle, as wellas -controls for each of the mechanisms used in marking the road, shallbe positioned adjacent this drivers seat 51. With this in mind, a valvehandle 50 is provided to cut off the flow of marking material from thereceptacle 4 as well as the handle 54 to control the valve 53. A valve59 controls the fuel supply forthe burners, such as 60, positioned onthe shoe and the burners, which are incorporated in the receptacle 4 toheat the marking material; Positioned adjacent the operators seat alsoare the clutch and brake pedals 6I and 62, respectively.

It is also intended that the accelerator or other throttle will beprovided so that the operator in the position 51 can control the speedof the vehicle in accordance with the satisfactory operation of thevarious mechanisms. While these controls have not been shown in detail,

points where the shoe and the Wheel are located. it is believed that theconstruction thereof will be readily understood and that thediagrammatic illustration will serve as a suicient disclosure.

Positioned on the vehicle is the receptacle 5, which is provided with aspout or chute 65, which is directed downwardly toward the surface beingmarked. A suitable agitator 66 is provided within the receptacle 5, andis driven by a drive chain or belt 61. In this manner, a suitabledusting or covering substance will be distributed on the surface whichhas just been marked. It is intended that sand or other suitable dustingmaterial will be placed in the hopper and that the agitator 66 will bedriven at such a speed that this material will be fed into the chute 65at the proper rate.

While the hopper 5 has been described above as a dusting material, itiscontemplated that other substances may be used in this hopper for thepurpose of glazing the surface of the mark.

It is desirable that the mark be visible particularly at night, and,with this in mind, various substances have been applied to the mark,such as small flakes of mica or other brilliant or sparkling materials.If the marking material be a paint instead of a bituminous substance asuitable dusting material may be used such as lime,

cement, or rock dust, which will coat the surface of the paint andpreventthe same from being picked up by passing vehicles.

If such sparkling or reecting material -is distributed from the hopper5, it will be lodged upon the asphaltic marking material while the markis still ina uid state, and will become more or less imbedded in themarking material. When this occurs, the refiectingparticles are firmlyimbedded and permanently positioned so long as the mark exists. Whilemica has been mentioned as a suitable material, it is intended that anysubstance will be used, the flakes or particles of which serve toreflect the headlight rays of vehicles so that the mark will be vvisibleto the traffic at night. 'I'hus, a distinctive traflic mark will beprovided which will be visible at night regardless of the color of theroad surface.

In order that the machine may be guided in the proper direction, anoutboard steering mechanism has been provided. which includes-anadjustable framework 10, which is preferably carried by the forward endof the vehicle. This framework includes an extensible support 1I, whichis mounted upon a trunnion 12, which in turn rides upon the wheel 13. Anindicating iinger-14 is disposed on the mechanism so that the point 15thereof will move adjacent the edge of the road surface. 'I'hismechanism is braced with a suitable strut 16, which is adjustablyconnected to the side of the vehicle. It is intended that the support 1|can be adjusted to accommodate different widths of road so that thebrush 22 and the other mechanisms will be disposed at the center of theroadway when the point 15 is adjacent the edge.

In order to maintain the vehicle in the proper position, the operatorwho is to guide the vehicle is positioned upon the seat 18, which'ismounted outboard of the vehicle on an extensible support 19. Anauxiliary steering mechanism, in addition to that usually employed uponvehicles, is shown at 80. This mechanism is carried by a support 8|, andis shown as being connected to the original steering mechanism by meansof the rock shaft 82 connecting the lever 83 and the steeringarm 84.Thus, by movement of the'lever 85, the

operator is enabled to guide the vehicle so that the point 15 will bemaintained on the edge of the road, and he is then positive` that themark being placed will be at the center of the road.

The particular advantage of the present construction resides in thecombination of the various elements .into a single vehicle so that aperfect stripe may be placed upon the road by a single operation. Onlytwo operators are required upon the vehicle, one to perform the steeringfrom the seat 18, and the second to control the manipulation of thevarious devices and to regulate the speed of travel of the vehicle fromthe seat 51.

With the present machine, it is possible to brush, clean,'spray and markthe road surface, as well as to dust the marked area in a singleoperation.

Figure 3 shows a slightly modified form of the carriage l5 in which thewheels 43 are mounted on bars 44 which are pivoted at 90 to the shoehousing 45. 'I'he bars 44" are extended beyond the pivot point andprovided with springs 9| which are anchored to the housing 45 so thatany variations in the surface of the road will be absorbed by relativemovement of the shoe and the wheels. Thus, if the wheels pass over anobstruction, the shoe will not be raised from the road surface but themovement will be absorbed by the spring, and if the shoe passes over adepression, the spring will tend to move it downwardly so that excessivemarking material will not be discharged.

What I claim as new is:

1. A road marking combine including a rotary brush, means carried -bysaid combine to remove the material loosened by said brush, means toapply a solvent for the marking material to the road surface, vmeans toapply a coating of marking material on the road surface above thesolvent, and means to dust the top of the marked surface, all of saidmeans to be operable from said combine whereby the road surface may becleaned, marked and dusted at a single operation.

2. In a road marking combine, a marking material distributor shoe, amarking material solvent spray disposed directly in advance of saidshoe, and supply receptacles foreach the marking material and thesolvent carried by said combine whereby the' marking material isdeposited on the solvent coated road surface and will be somewhat ldissolved to form a bond with the road surface.

3. In a road marking combine, a marking material distributor shoe, amarking material solvent spray disposed directly in advance of saidshoe, and supply receptacles for each the marking material andthesolvent carried by said combine, and means also carried by saidcombine', to clean the surface to be marked whereby the solvent andmarking material will adhere to the road surface.

4. Ina road marking combine, a marking material distributor shoe, amarking material solvent spray disposed directly in advance of saidshoe, and supply receptacles for each the marking material and thesolvent carried by said combine,

and means to surface the marked area with a` terial distributor sho'e, apivoted connection therefor so that said shoe will drag on the roadsurface, a marking material solvent spray disposed directly in advanceof said shoe, and supply receptacles for each thejmarking material andthe solvent carried by said combine, so that a mm of solvent willdissolve a portion of the marking material so that such material will owinto the depressions in the road surface to form a bond.

6. In a road marking combine, means to clean the surface to be marked,means to apply a volatile liquid solvent on the surface to receive themarking material, and means to apply the marking material.

7. A road marking machine including a vehicle, a frame pivoted to saidvehicle at one side thereof, a carriage pivoted to said frame, a markershoe adjustably arranged on said carriage to drag on the surface beingmarked, and a feeder mechanism to supply marking material to said shoe,said mechanism including a hopper, and means to control the iiow oimaterial to said shoe,

8. A road marking machine including a vehicle, a frame pivoted to saidvehicle at one side thereof, a carriage pivoted to said frame, a markershoe adjustably arranged on said carriage to drag on the surface beingmarked, and a feeder mechanism to supply marking material to said shoe,said mechanism including a hopper, means to control the ow of materialto said shoe, and

25 guard bars at each side of said shoe but movable independentlythereof to denne the mark being- `a carriage pivoted to said frame, amarker shoe adjustably arranged on said carriage to drag on the surfacebeing marked, and a feeder mechanism to supply marking material to saidshoe, said mechanism including a hopper, and additional means to cleanand condition the surface ahead of said shoe.

10, In combination with a road marking machine, a wheeledvshoe carriage,a marking shoe thereon, and resilient means supporting some of thewheels and connected to said shoe carriage whereby said shoe may ride onthe surface being marked.

11, In combination with a road marking machine, a Wheeled shoe carriage,a marking shoe thereon, supporting wheels connected to said shoe, and aresilient connection between said shoe and wheels whereby inequalitiesin the road surface will not cause said shoe to be lifted from the road.l

EVERETI' H. HOILINGSHEAD.

